Baselworld 2019: Angelus U50 Diver Tourbillon Black Edition

NEW FROM SWISS BRAND ANGELUS AT BASELWORLD THIS YEAR IS THEIR FIRST DIVER’S WATCH COLLECTION.

The U50 Diver Tourbillon Black Edition has an unusual structured manufacture skeleton movement entirely clad in dark tones. While a diver’s watch, the U50 Diver Tourbillon is intended as a sporty-chic, high-performance watch, able to withstand all kinds of physical activities, whether above or below sea level.

The 45mm lightweight watch is made from titanium with a black DLC treatment all over and features two large screw-down crowns. The two-position crown at 4 o’clock is used for winding and setting the time, while the crown at 2 o’clock is used to rotate the uni-directional 60-minute interior rotating bezel, in lieu of the exterior rotating bezel commonly found in diver’s watches.

Opposite the crowns on the left side of the case at the 9 o’clock position, a helium escape valve ensures the watch’s water resistance of 300 meters (1’000 feet), even during saturation diving where the watch would be exposed to helium gas that could make its way into the case under pressure.

Instead of a solid dial, the U50 Diver Tourbillon features an open display with a dark but legible flange ring, with a subtle contrast between black and grey tones, as well as white Superluminova on the indexes. Matching the legible flange ring, the three hands are black plated and also filled with Superluminova. Both face and case-back crystals are made of antireflective sapphire.

The U50 Diver Tourbillon’s A-300 mechanical hand-wound caliber with a 55-hour power reserve is designed as a skeleton from the ground up, not merely a cut-out version of an existing movement.

Much reduced in weight, it has maximum rigidity from its beam-type bridges, while all the movement’s main elements, such as the wheels and barrel, are firmly secured between two plates. This massively increases the mechanical resistance of the movement. The watch’s rigidity is further enhanced by the Angelus in-house signature six-spoke design, which reinforces the wheel train and protects the skeletonized ratchet and barrel. The movement is entirely manufactured in-house.